Work-in-progress by Silent Reverence a.k.a. solovino.
The Guild of Rienna (tentative title) is a Pokémon fanfiction that I have currently under development and what I expect will be my most important work for that fandom. Follows the misadventures of a sort-of secret society of young Pokémon trainers, called the Guild of Rienna, who are "tasked" to protect a set of ruins and inaccessible locations around the world. However, being a teenager Trainer opting in to college and being a member of a Secret Society are not tasks that can be easily made compatible... and it's even more difficult than it seems because of the secret of the Guild, so obscure that not even its founders know: the organization is actually run by the Trainer's Pokémon, who "use" their humans to gather resources and "protect what's important".
The story begins with the members of the secret society, who are mostly girls, facing the logistic problems that come with handling a secret organization that, albeit the good guys, will face friendly fire from the G-Men and the Pokémon Rangers. Thus, a shadowly Pokemon advisor sets up events in order to recruit young, hot male Trainers to the cause. The Leader, a Black Cloak Action Girl, assigns her most talented follower, Sainier, to test potential recruits, which she does by manipulating Gym Leader matches as well as the Trainer marketplace. Pretending to be a criminal mastermind, she sets up a series of "heists" which the candidates must prevent, and then she challenges the two best candidates to a "find-me final heist" to see if they are really worthy and willing. In the meanwhile and without her knowledge, her Pokémon are evaluating the young trainers as well, although looking for a different set of qualities.
Then, problems begin.
With the heists so well planned that a sort of urban legend was born, several thugs were trying to replicate the criminal feats, leaving the new members of the Guild to set all that mess right while the senior ones deal with more important cases. In the midst of the confusion and the P.P.R.R hell, a shadowy character escapes with an important package of scientific data and sets up a chain of events that endangers not only the ruins that the Guild is supposed to protect, but also the delicate balance that exists in the order of things that are allowed to exist (or, more precisely, to be created). The Pokémon who run the organization won't have any of this, so they pull themselves a bit too far when pursuing the issue, with their humans having to catch up.
This work will provide examples of:
- Academy of Adventure: Dreis' college, located in an important city, is the main place where the Organization tries to draw resources from. Some chapters will have lecture classes by renowned figures such as some famous proffesors called after trees.
- Anonymous Ringer: used two or three to help establish the setting.
- Authentication by Newspaper will be the preferred method to identify the characters as members of the Organization once its existence becomes public.
- Black Cloak: well not completely black, since they have golden lines, rings, and designs based on flowers, but still, this is the organization's standard uniform when doing missions in the outside.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight — will be played with because of this, of course.
- Canon Immigrant: of sorts... not the characters, but the moves, since I plan to study and incorporate moves from the Trading Card Game to develop the Pokémon movesets.
- Cast Calculus: I'll have to do some... right now it's essentially a 3+2, but there will be eventually the Regional League, the villains, some adventurers and bystanders, etc.
- Contract on the Hitman: how the "final heist" plans out.
- Dog Walks You, This Is My Human: the reason-behind-the-reason behind the existence of the Guild has to do with humans historically "being there" to make the world better for Pokémon, although it gets actually simpler than that.
- The Dragon: due to how events turn out, the Elite Four end up becoming this.
- Dress-Coded for Your Convenience + Color Motif: the Guild's cloth, with details and ornaments corresponding to their "handler Pokemon". Sainier's, for example, has a green headpiece and brown sleeves just like a Tropius.
- Esperanto, the Universal Language: I'll have this somewhat implied, and work around it, but I'll keep it on check so that it doesn't become something cumbersome. Maybe used as Bilingual Bonus. The entire work may eventually be translated into the language as I relearn it.
- Fanfic Header: duh...
- Fighting for a Homeland: the Pokémon.
- Genius Loci: the "headquarters" of the Guild is a giant forest-like macroorganism inside a crater, that works like a container to a greater sentience. Think Movie 8's "Tree of Beginning", but it lacks a Mew. And it was not naturally created.
-
Goddamn Bats: related to the above, this time the Zubats will be friendly. Beedrill, as well. - Head Pet: some of the Pokémon have this as an habit and make their trainers instantly recognizable.
- I Call It "Vera": one tidbit of characterization I plan to add is that Cubones and Marowaks call their bone after the name of their mother.
- Limit Break: I'll have some attacks work like this. Not at the level of Final Fantasy games, mind you, but still in a way that is not as simple as "press A to spam move" as in the games. Candidate moves are Earthquake, Fury Cutter and Dream Eater.
- Finishing Move: related to the above, some Pokemon have moves that have been perfected to work like this.
- Multinational Team: the Guild has one member from each Region, including fanon regions. The Leader is from Emisre, where the adventure takes place; Rigel is from Sinnoh and Miria is Johto-born, although she was raised in Emisre since childhood; Sainier is from "a faraway land".
- Pet Heir: one of the Pokémon characters has actually inherited the flower shop that his human Trainer has to handle. And that's to say nothing of the Leader's handler, who inherits a particularly abstract kind of heirloom.
- Power Trio: since six Pokemon times (at least) seven characters would be difficult and boring to handle for battles and plot, I'll have each character focus in a specialized three-member team, which they can switch at a Pokémon Center.
- Professor X Likes Watching Teenagers Sweat: how it starts.
- And the Adventure Continues How it's supposed to end...
- Resignations Not Accepted.
- Three Plus Two: what the recruitment mission amounts to.
- Ship Sinking: This will be my first attempt at writing romance; unfortunately for Dreis and Miria, their own Pokemon are intent on preventing them from getting too close to each other.
The Characters:
- The "Leader": of name unknown (to the audience), a shadowy figure who handles most of the Guild's logistics and resources which she draws from mysterious sources. She is known only to have flirted with a Gym Leader.
- Pokémon Handler is ???? (sorry, won't reveal that yet)
- Other members of the Team include a Salamence who enjoys blasting opponents down the sky and a vicious Zangoose with a dirty-soft spot for Kirlias.
- A Glass of Chianti: She enjoys red wine, as does her Pokemon. In short sips, of course.
- Mysterious Informant: the way she works for most of the story is by appearing out of nowhere and handing instructions to her subordinates, who are assumed to know her real persona. Even more, she herself gets most of her intel from a more-mysterious, nonhuman source.
- I Gave My Word: why her handler, and her handler's father, and the father's father, and so on, have remained as partners to humans for the duration of the Guild, and is closely related to the region's history.
- Beast of Battle: Salamence is a comfortable and secure ride, as well as a war
machinedragon who happens to know, and loves to spam, Draco Meteor, Heat Wave and Zen Headbutt.
- Sainier: a 23-year old female trainer from "a faraway land", with large experience in psychic strategies and who specializes in going over the board to defeat her opponents.
- Handler is a somewhat-Cloud Cuckoo Lander Tropius that she caught under only tangentially-referred to circumstances and whose job description is "pass messages to other Pokémon and beamsmile at them". He also serves as her ride on occasion.
- Team: A pretty powerful Kadabra who aspires to one day go training to a certain psychic gym in Kanto, a Combat Pragmatist Miltank who uses milk and rolling for nefarious effect, a mostly-spectator Kanghaskhan.
- The Nicknamer: Tropius (Ygen), Kadabra (Trina), Miltank (Apila), among ohers. Unlike everyone else in this setting she nicknames most if not all of her Pokémon.
- Recruit Teenagers with Attitude: Sainier's mission in the first part is to do this; part of the goal is to strengthen the eventual skill pool of the group. To her psychic partner however, the mission feels like her human having too much an opportunity to Male Gaze.
- Babies Make Everything Better: Kanghaskan + critter, also one reason why she pretty much never takes part in battle.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Tropius, who
if given the chancewon't fight even once. Part of his charm is being able to deconstruct his partners' motivations.
- Dreis: a 20-year-old Water and Ghost type specialist from a particular tribe where the young leave their home to never return. He has taken part in several sea-related championships, and is a sportsman sophomore. Also the poor subject for my romance experiments, together with the next member.
- Handler is a naughty Haunter who is seeking for a way to evolve without trading, as the "normal" evolution method will deprive him from his contact to an otherworldy guiding figure.
- Team includes a childish Drifloon who is Dreis's starter, as well as a Tsundere Seadra who won't leave a jacuzzi once she gets inside one even defending her position by Hyper-Beaming her trainer; a Head Pet Masquerain who does not understand city life (eg.: tends to think of semaphores as enemies), a Poliwhirl who can't believe he is allergic to some kind of algae, and a Finneon who understands he is The Load of the water group. Dreis has to contend with the weird customs of most of his Pokémon the entire time, and the fact that they definitively don't like he ogling Miria (one of her partners in the Organization) is no help.
- Checkov'sSkill: His Pokémon are masters of these, and a strong point in his battle abilities is that most of his Pokémon know TM techniques which are reserved only for pretty hard spots.
- The One Guy: since all of the other members of the Organization previous to Sainier's mission are girls about his age, he had weird times being late at the meetings or being the one told to wait outside every time they wanted some privacy.
- Circling Monologue: a particular technique he can pull with the assistance of all his Ghost-type Pokémon boils down to a Battle in the Center of the Mind version of Beat Up using this.
- Combat Aestheticist: he might as well do contests, ala Ruby in Special.
- The Unfettered.
- Only One Name: he has only one legal name, characteristic that is actually normal in the tribe he comes from. Part of the custom is that he is forbidden to return to his homeland until he has earned another legal name (by marrying, for example).
- Personal Space Invader: Masquerain who won't accept a no for response to her hourly Glomps. Inverted with Poliwhirl, who won't come near any other of the Pokémon of the team without warning them an hour in advance.
- Brown Note: singing like this is one of Drifloon's abilities. Not really appreciated by any member or Pokémon in the Organization except for Miria's Electrode.
- Implausible Synchrony: Haunter has the ability to know the exact time of the day, or more precisely the night.
- Tranquil Fury: His Seadra is like this, all the time, and both Dreis and the remaining members of his team struggle to find out why.
- Miria: a 21-year-old "hero-type" girl loosely based on the Ace class; Hoenn-born, she left the continent in search of better battle opportunities (in a time when Steven Stone hadn't yet reached the title of Champion). Her tactics and battle experience can rival even the hardest Gym Leaders of her region, and is considered head series in any tournament event she deems to enter. In her spare time she maintains a flower shop that was (is) her mother's and functions as a part-time
drugsVitamins backtrade post. Unlike most other members, she has martial arts training as well as short expertise in tasers and self-defense, not that she needs it.- Handler is her starter, Blaziken who loves going a-Blaze, longs for boxing experience, and is more than a bit jealous on Dreis's advances on his trainer.
- Team includes a Bunny-Ears Lawyer Marowak who lampshades flying-type immunity to Bonemerang and has perfected Fissure to destroy steel edifications, a Gligar who is particularly afraid of new places, a Kavorka Spheal who thinks of himself as the dramatic relief, and an Electrode who loves Drifloon's singing and won't show even a bit of his personality beyond that because he thinks Marowak is out to eat his soul.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Training In Hell a lot and enjoying their mutual company, Blaziken and Marowak don't have much trouble when fighting without human assistance or putting together against all sorts of odds, up to and including being surrounded by a Manectric pack assisted by Water-Pulsing Swellows.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: this is how Dreis sees her. He is dead wrong considering the thinks she had to do for her family to keep the flower shop. Don't intend to break her yet.
- Innocent Flower Girl: her cover as member of the Organization, gives her some troubles since she is also The Dutiful Daughter.
- No Family Name Given. Ever. Contrast Dreis who actually has only one name.
- Cowardly Lion: Gligar, mostly due to being from another region and not being accustomed to the setting.
- Elemental Punch: Blaziken knows Fire Punch, Thunder Punch and Focus Punch.
- Ineffectual Loner: Marowak and, to a lesser extent, Electrode, who because of their personalities enjoy the flower shop time more than the battling time. Not that Marowak is not exceedingly good at fighting.
- Arlene: (tentative name) short girl, with waist-long blue hair, age 16. A "wildcard" potential member for the Organization with lots of tricks down her sleeve, and is also a respected maid to one of the region's richest families. She is the daughter of an important law enforcement officer and thus has particularly useful data on everything going on, but will be only willing to give it away at a price, and sees her nomination as a potential as a way to rise against another member of her family who is plotting against her father.
- Handler is a Ditto who doesnt care what the hell is going around himself (admittedly, he won't even care about himself) so long as he gets to imitate interesting Pokémon.
- Team members include a Bond One-Liner Lapras, a Vespiquen who assists by commanding the bugs of the HQ around her, and a Skarmory with an addiction to spicy Pokéblocks.
- Big Eater. And her Pokémon as well.
- Conflicting Loyalty: due to the little detail that the turns in the plot leave her as a Overlord Jr..
- Enemy Scan: the only member of the Organization to carry a Pokédex and use it accordingly.
- Horse of a Different Color: rides a Lapras on water, Skarmory to the air, and has Ditto transform into a Lairon for short strides.
- Ditto Fighter: Ditto (who else?).
- Rigel: tan and muscley young boy from Sinnoh, with blond, spiky hair (not like Cloud). He used to be The Rival to two trainers from Twinleaf since the three began their journey. With time he outgrew training to dedicate himself to exploration, following the steps of his parents, both of them Sinnoh archaeologists. Although not on a conscious level, he build experience and knowledge to become himself the personal hell of more than one Redundant Researcher. It was after a particular day of leaving a group of researchers in their tent at Turnbout Cave crying (see Scaily Competent Tracker) that he was invited to test himself to the highest degree by tracking and capturing an apparently uncatchable criminal, thus leading him to Sainier and the Organization. Has good physical endurance and minor training in tactical reckon.
- Handler is a fairly experienced and bossy Grotle that won't back against any threat and who eventually evolves into Torterra. Goes under the name Fudoah dervived from a word for meadows.
- Team members include a stoic Chivalrous Pervert Luxray who takes to heart being nice to even the everpresent Steel-type Tsunderes (he loves risk that much), and that's it for males — the rest is a wide assortment of female Pokémon: a Team Mom Staravia who picked the habit after outgrowing her Head Pet status and who struggles to keep the other personalities in the team at bay, a beautifully dangerous Gyarados who won't take lightly to a Wurmple looking at her funny yet won't miss a chance to have her trainer tidy her scales, a Dustox, Frosslass and Kricketune who have fun molesting the male members of the team, a workaholic Graveler and a Natu that Rigel is trying to get rid of because he can't understand her.
- Aloof Big Brother.
- Celibate Hero: partly because he used to travel too much, he does not thinks too highly of establishing romantic relationships.
- Cuteness Proximity: he acts like this to his female Pokémon, mostly to his Gyarados who knows to take advantage of it.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: although the entire Organization ends up like this, Rigel gets the worst part since he carries out the more public activities after Sainier, who manages to keep her identity secret.
- Scarily Competent Tracker: one of the reasons, and the most important for the Pokémon, why he is considered a potential recruit is that the rumor says he and his Rival were once able to track Giratina and follow her to the Reverse World.
- You Got Murder: his first test is to locate the target but not to prevent it. The victim turns out to be the person who sent the letter
- Team Mom: Staravia becomes this partly because she thinks Rigel has assorted a team too wild. Which he has.
- Turtle Island: once Grotle evolves into Torterra he becomes a
humanPokémon shield for his trainer as well the rest of the team, an essentially unpassable wall who enjoys to Leaf Storm opponents to oblivion, and eventually becomes a Worthy Opponent for the Leader's Salamence.
- Lou: a tall, slender boy aged 16 whose brown hair is laced with strands of gray and who excels at Geo Effects. This Trainer likes to observe Pokémon colonies and used to be the Mysterious Protector of his village after his homeland was hit by an earthquake. He is selected as a potential due to his ability to draw opponents out of hiding and expose their weaknesses.
- Handler is a Too Kinky to Torture Nidorino who despises the other handlers for being fully evolved (and thus getting along only with Haunter).
- Team members include starter and (relatively) gentle Ivysaur whose disposition is proportional to the chance of sapping the opponent's health; a Sandlash who joined because of the prospect of Pokéblocks but stayed when he discovered pasta, a patronizing Head Pet Venomoth, a
Chaotic Neutral Scyther who follows him as part of his personal Thanatos Gambit, a one-track Beedrill and a Solrock who battles highly defensive and acts Leeroy Jenkins everytime there is a photo camera nearby. - Power Trio: his trio, comprised of rotating cast with Ivysaur on the lead and rotating two other Pokémon out of (initially) five.
- Celibate Hero: of the "love is a distraction" kind.
- Kuudere, his masking of emotions comes from the emotional weight he went through during his time as a mysterious protector (see below).
- My Greatest Failure: an important secret of his past goes in the way how he captured Scyther, and that involved unwillingly having to kill an entire container of Pokemon.
- Mysterious Protector: he was student of an institute. When an earthquake hit the continent, he and other students defected and dedicated themselves as protectors of their villages for a couple of years. It was at the end of his personal Knight Errant journey that he was invited to test himself by chasing "a famous criminal", eventually leading him to Sainier.
- Beware the Nice Ones: his strongest Pokémon, by far is Ivysaur, who is gentle-natured, enjoys radio and likes to talk about the weather and "bipedal weirdness"; not that anything of this lasts long when threatened.
- Killer Rabbit: Nidorino, specially trained to Endure Endure Endure till he can land a nasty poisonous bite (or worse for both parties, a Horn Drill). His constant pushing earns him more than just notice by a pretty Nidorina.
- Martyrdom Culture: Scyther. Since he was captured (see My Greatest Failure) he has followed Lou under the tacit agreement that he belongs to him until Lou is forced to order him to kill another being. But he does not intend to last longer than that.
- Personal Rain Cloud: Venomoth sometimes functions the converse of this, in the sense that she will Sleep Powder- or Stun Spore her trainer because he is tired or his mood is decaying, thus the "rain cloud" acting as a remedy more than as a visual cue.
- Scratch Damage: Venomoth can very briefly shrug off water- or fire-type damage with the TCG-imported ability Healing Dust.
